Drinking attachment for containers



. '6, 1955 J. SOMOZA DRINKING ATTACHMENT FOR CONTAINERS Filed Aug. 21, 1955 FIG. 4

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INVENTOR JULIUS SOMOZA BY M M M f 7- ATTORN EY g A 2,725,732 lcfi Patented Dec. 6, 1955 DRHNKING ATTACNT FOR CONTAINERS Julius Somoza, Yonkers, N. Y.

Application August 21, 1953, Serial No. 375,673

2 Claims. (Ci. 65-13) This invention relates to drinking attachments for containers, and more particularly to a drinking attachment for cans, such as beer cans, having a shield or plate inserted therein to control the flow of liquid there from when the can is tilted to the drinking position.

Drinking attachments for containers, such as beer cans, comprising a collar or tubular member which can be separabiy attached to the dispensing end of the container have heretofore been proposed so that the contents of the can may be consumed directly from the can without the necessity of dispensing the contents of the can into a glass or other drinking vessel. When such drinking attachments are employed, however, the liquid in the can spurts forth too freely from the dispensing openings punctured in the can when it is tilted to the drinking position. With such prior drinking attachments,

the contents are easily spilled and drinking therefrom is awkward. This spurting of the liquid from the can is especially apparent when the can is full.

The present invention overcomes this disadvantage by providing a shield or plate, which itself has openings therein, between the dispensing end of the can and the dispensing end of the attachment. This shield permits the fiow of liquid from the container in a more even and slower manner and prevents the liquid from spurting forth too freely when the can is tilted to the drinking position.

For a more detailed description of my invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which;

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the can, the same being partly broken away, showing the construction of the drinking attachment and the manner of its attachment to the can;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a modification;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the modification shown in Figure 3.

The drinking attachment 1, as illustrated in Figure 1, comprises a tubular body 2 having an upper mouth edge 3 while the opposite lower portion 4 has formed therein an annular seat 5 to accommodate the lap seam marginal edge 6 of the can 7 for the fitting of the drinking attachment upon the end of the can. The can 7 is opened at 8 and 9 to permit the dispensing of the contents from the can and also to provide an air vent to facilitate the dispensing of the liquid from the can. The inner diameter of the drinking attachment adjacent the underside of the seat 5 may also be of lesser diameter than the diameter at the extreme lower edge 4 of the drinking attachment to assure adequate frictional engagement of the drinking attachment on the can. The shield 10 is attached to the inner surface of the tubular body 2 at a suitable distance above the seat 5 by seating the shield in the circular groove 11. The openings 12 in the shield 10 are provided around the outer perimeter of the shield and are in the shape of triangles as shown in Figure 2.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4, the

drinking attachment is attached to the can 7 solely by means of frictional engagement with the marginal edge 6 of the can due to the decrease in the inner diameter of the drinking attachment from the lower edge 4 toward the upper edge 3. The shield 10 in this embodiment may be attached to the inner surface of the tubular body 2 by a suitable insoluble adhesive or, if the drinking attachment is composed of a suitable plastic, by welding. The shield may, of course, also be attached to the tubular member by any other means desired. The openings permitting the flow of the liquid through the shield and yet preventing spurting of the liquid from the can are, in this embodiment, in the form of semi-circular openings 13. The openings may also be placed inwardly of the outer perimeter of the shield.

The shape or size of the openings in the shield may be varied as desired. The openings in the shield should, of course, be constructed or arranged in such a manner so that the on-rushing or spurting liquid from the openings in the can will not pass directly through the openings in the shield, but they should be so constructed and arranged that the spurting liquid will first contact a sufiicient portion of the solid surface of the shield to prevent the liquid from spurting a distance further than that between the dispensing opening in the can and the shield. One manner of accomplishing this is by staggering the openings in the shield with respect to the openings in the can as illustrated in Figure 2. In Figure 2 the openings 12 are staggered outwardly from the openings in the can. This may be accomplished by making the shield of a larger diameter than the end of the can and positioning the openings in the shield about the outer perimeter thereof as shown in Figure 2. The positioning of the openings in the outer perimeter also serves the advantage of facilitating the complete removal of the contents of the can. In place of the openings 7 and 13, a plurality of small holes may be punctured in the shield about the outer edge thereof. Such holes should, of course, be considerably smaller than the openings in the can.

in constructing the drinking attachment of the present invention, there should also be provided a sufficient distance between the shield and the dispensing end of the can to provide a space of suficient volume to allow the liquid to collect therein after it is thrust backwards by contact with the solid portion of the shield. If the shield is positioned too close to the dispensing opening in the can and an insufiicient space is left between the openings in the can and the shield, the liquid will still have a tendency to spurt when it is tilted to the drinking position. The distance between the shield and openings in the can cannot be definitely set forth for this will vary dependent upon a number of variables, such as the size of the openings in the can, the diameter of the can, and the diameter of the drinking attachment. With the ordinary beer can, a distance of about /2 inch between the top of the can and the shield would be sufiicient. However, this distance could be slightly less and could also be larger. The distance between the shield and dispensing openings in the can may be readily controlled by constructing the lower portion, or the can connecting portion, of the tubular member in such a manner that the lower portion thereof will be prevented from sliding downwardly over the outer perimeter of the can past a fixed point which has been predetermined with respect to the fixed position of the shield. In Figure 1, for example, the decrease in diameter from the extreme lower edge 4 of the tubular member toward the underside of the seat 5, plus the seat 5 itself, prevents the tubular member from sliding down past that point and thus maintaining a fixed distance between the top of the can and the shield. In Figure 3 the decrease in diameter from the extreme lower edge 4 to the upper edge 3 of the tubular member prevents the tubular member from sliding past the desired point. If the shield is constructed in the shape of a dome, the distance between the edge of the shield and the can openings may be rather small; however, the volume between the shield and the can would still be sufiicient due to the increased volume at the central portion of the shield.

Many different materials may be used to construct the drinking attachment according to the present invention. It may be constructed from a suitable plastic such as those plastics usually used to make glasses and cups, or more advantageously from cardboard which has been treated to render it water-proof or resistant to the partinula'r liquid contents of the can.

The shield may also be advantageously constructed in the shame of a dome and in which case the liquid will flow back 'into the can more easily when it is returned from the drinking position to the vertical position.

Various changes and modifications may be made in the particular drinking attachments illustrated and described Without departing from my invention, and therefore, the scope of the invention should be limited only to the extent set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A can having at least one opening punctured in one end adjacent the outer perimeter thereof to permit dispensing or" the contents, a drinking attachment for the can comprising a tubular member having the lower end attached to the can body by frictional engagement, and the upper end of the tubular member extending beyond the dispersing end of the can, and a circular shield having openings therein in the form of indentations in the outer perimeter of the shield attached to the inner surface of the tubular member and spaced above the dispensing openings in the can, said openings in the shield being staggered with respect to the openings in the can.

2. A can having at least one opening punctured in one end adjacent the outer perimeter thereof to permit dispensing of the contents, a drinking attachment for the can comprising a tubular member having the lower end attached to the can body by frictional engagement, and the upper end of the tubular member extending beyond the dispensing end of the can, and a circular shield having openings therein in the form of indentations in the outer periphery of the shield attached to the inner surface of the tubular member and spaced above the dispensing openings in the can, the diameter of said shield being sufficiently larger than the diameter of the dispensing end of the can to effect a staggering of the openings in the can and in the shield.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 420,262 Boemermann Jan. 28, 1890 562,440 Vandersall June 23, 1896 998,533 King July 18, 1911 1,098,653 Whisenant June 2, 1914 1,349,591 Tiefenbrun Aug. 17, 1920 1,687,155 Cayot Oct. 9, 1928 1,820,817 McRae Aug. 25, 1931 2,039,643 Gailor May 5, 1936 2,058,910 Plunkett Oct. 27, 1936 2,075,721 Hommel Mar. 30, 1937 2,094,869 Ballard Oct. 5, 1937 2,170,282 Van Der Spek Aug. 22, 1939 2,222,382 Truesdale Nov. 19, 1940 2,327,010 Bjork Aug. 17, 1943 2,529,114 Tellier Nov. 7, 1950 2,552,318 Hartmann May 8, 1951 2,559,362 Langfeld July 3, 1951 

